Returned Love
by Sky Rider
Summary: Sakura finds Sasuke in the forest, ill and injured, several years after he left the village. Sasuke
1. Sasuke Returns

_**Naruto --- Returned Love**_

_Disclaimer: Don't own anything in Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing stuff on the internet. So, use your brain and don't try to sue me!_

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said, raising her eyebrows in astonishment when she turned over the raven-haired boy laying stationary on the ground. When she set eyes on his face, her heart leapt painfully into her throat. It had been at least seven years since she had set eyes on him, the one person she ever truly loved. The rain was beating down hard now, so that his hair stuck to his face. Brushing his hair away, she saw that his eyes were closed. His features looked so peaceful, yet extremely strained.

"Sasuke-kun," she repeated, putting a hand to his forehead. He had a fever. Stirring slightly at her touch, his face instantly changed to hold an expression extreme pain and discomfort. Much to Sakura's dismay, however, he did not open his eyes.

"Ugh…uhnn…." groaned Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, thank god! You're alive!"

Bending down, with some difficulty, she put his arms around her neck and leaned his chest against her back. Then putting her arms securely around his legs, she slowly rose to her feet. Shifting his weight slightly, she started running back towards the village.

Not more than five minutes later, someone landed in front of her.

"And where do you think are you going?"

Knowing that voice all too well, she wasn't about to stop. Not with an injured and feverish Sasuke on her back.

"Come on, SUCK—URA! Come and fight me!"

"Go away, Amitsu-san, or should I say, Amitsu-_chan_! I don't have time for you right now," Sakura yelled back in irritation.

"Oh come now! It's been over a week since our last _date_," he said, landing right in front of her. Causing her to stop. He was a rather ugly man, holding an almost reptilian quality with his green hair, his short, thin figure, and his narrow eyes. Standing on her guard, she readied herself to make a quick get-away of need be.

"You're sick, Amitsu-san. I wouldn't date you if hell froze over and that alone would save the human race!"

"Aw, I love feisty women. That just proves that you're exactly my type!"

"Dream on!" Sakura reached down with one hand and threw a kunai knife at the guy. What Amitsu seemed to have for her was a kind of rude love-hate, unhealthy obsession.

"Now, now, sweetheart. No need to be so rough up front. I haven't even started to sweet talk yet."

"I have no time for you, Amitsu! Get lost!" She slipped her hand back around Sasuke's leg and started to make signs at her stomach level. Then bending down, she rammed her hand into the ground hard, making several feet of the ground in front of it break upwards in response.

"Ah, look! My baby has a new toy!"

Suddenly there was a cloud of dust and several kunai knives appeared out of nowhere, heading for Amitsu. Sakura looked up into a nearby tree to see a blonde-haired boy grinning down at the situation, looking amused.

"Naruto-kun! Where did you come from!"

He shrugged, jumping down from the tree branch, "You're late. You said you would be able to meet us for a team dinner, 'for old times sake' over an hour ago. Kakashi started to worry. He had something to do for a few minutes, so he sent me to find you. And who in the world is that you're carrying?"

"Right…well, in that case. Take care of Amitsu for me. This _guy on my back_ needs medical attention desperately."

"Again? When is it ever going to be **your **turn to deal with him?" Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Oh, shut up! This is only the second time."

"Excuse me. But I want Sakura-san, not Naruto-san," said Amitsu.

Naruto and Sakura both looked at Amitsu, "**SHUT UP!**"

"See you back at the village then, Sakura-san," said Naruto while Sakura ran for the village.

She hated to admit it, but Naruto was being a large help to her lately. Somehow he seemed to show up just in time to save her from fighting Amitsu.

"Kakashi-sensei!" she screamed, kicking open the door. A white-haired man sitting against the opposite wall of the room looked up, startled.

"Sakura-san, its about time that you—" he voice tailed off at the sight of the raven-haired person she was carrying on her back. The color seemed to instantly drain from his face. Getting up, he swept towards her, taking the young man off her back and setting him gently on a futon.

"Sasuke-san? Where on earth did you find him? And why is he like this?"

"I found him unconscious on the ground within the forest, not too far from here. I was on a short mission earlier, and on my way back, I found him just laying there," said Sakura.

"He's alive, but he has injuries and a high fever."

"Injuries?" Sakura asked, astonished.

"Yes. They're not visible to the human eye, but they're there, and very real. I'd make a guess that the injuries that he has are fairly deep, considering the kind of people he was working with," said Kakashi, as he pulled Sasuke's shirt off and pressed his hand down on the young man's stomach and upper chest. Getting a response of a jolt or knitted eyebrow from Sasuke every once and a while, he could tell when the boy that used to be almost like a son to him, was in pain.

"Stay with him, Sakura-san. While you're at it, you might want to change into something else, you look drenched. My clothes are over there in that dresser if you need them," said Kakashi, "I need to find a druggist who can make something to repair organs. If Sasuke-san gets any worse, he may not make it."

"Okay, Kakashi-sensei."

With that, he left. Sakura sat next to Sasuke, becoming suddenly aware exactly how wet she was. To put it simply, there was no part of her that was dry. It was as if she had taken a bath with her clothes on. Getting up, she made her way to the dresser and found a shirt. Then, grabbing a towel on top of the dresser, she walked behind a screen. It occurred to her how very awkward and wrong it felt to be undressing in her respected teacher's home and then putting on even one piece of his clothing. But none-the-less, she pulled off her dress, leaving on the black shorts that resided under it. Taking the towel, she dried herself off, and pulled the T-shirt on. It was slightly too big, but also fairly comfortable. Walking out from behind the screen, she was startled to see that Sasuke was watching her. Had he seen her figure through the screen?

"Sakura-san? Is that—is that you?" he asked, weakly.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun. It's me," Sakura said, setting her wet clothes and the towel down on a mat and sitting down beside him.

"Where am I?" he asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"Kakashi-sensei's place," Sakura said. Sasuke's eyes flickered towards her.

"Where is he?"

"Getting medicine for you, you've been badly injured," Sakura said.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, then his eyes slowly closed.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked uncertainly. He did not answer. Putting her fingers to his neck, she felt a weak pulse, "Don't die, Sasuke-kun. Please."

Naruto entered the room moments later, looking just as wet as she had been, and in a very bad mood, "So, Sasuke-kun's back? And managed to get himself hurt again. That stuck up moron!"

"He could say the same about you, as many times as you've been injured in his absence."

"Hey! At least I don't get hurt as bad as you do half the time!" Naruto shouted in annoyance.

"Only because Kakashi-sensei rescues you most of the time!" Sakura shouted back

"Whatever. You're just jealous that I'm better than you," Naruto said, looking full of himself.

"Dream on, dork!"

"Uhnn…" groaned Sasuke.

Nearly twenty minutes later, Kakashi walked back into the room with a small vile in his hands. Then lifting it to Sasuke's lips, he poured it slowly into the young man's mouth. With difficulty, Sasuke swallowed it. Almost immediately a burning sensation ensued, so painful that he screamed out. Sakura put his hand in hers and watched him anxiously. Naruto walked out of the room in disgust.

"I think he'll be all right," Kakashi told Sakura, "He's just in pain because its healing. Mm…nice choice of clothes, by the way. You're wearing one of my favorite shirts."

Sakura blushed, "Sorry, Kakashi-sensei."

"Don't worry about it. I'm going to see how Naruto-san's doing. Keep watching Sasuke-san. Come and get me if you think he's getting worse." Kakashi rose, leaving Sakura next to Sasuke once again. The raven-haired young man gave a swift jerk as a surge of pain going through his body. He gave a hard squeeze of Sakura's hand, gritting his teeth.

"Sasuke-kun? I'm going to stay here with you, okay?"

He nodded, gritting his teeth, "Aaaaaaaahhh!"

* * *

Naruto was sitting up in a tree, when Kakashi found him.

"What's going on, Naruto-san?"

"Nothing…" said Naruto, throwing a rock at a passerby.

"Is it Sasuke-san?"

"He just had to come back! And every time he's around, she doesn't even notice that I'm alive!"

Kakashi rose his eyebrows, "So this is about Sakura-san?"

"I was getting so close. Even Lee-kun has a girlfriend now, so he's not all over Sakura-kun anymore."

Kakashi sighed, "You're fighting a losing battle, I think, Naruto-san. Sakura-san is a complicated woman to understand. She gave her heart to Sasuke-san a long time ago. Even **I** can see that."

"But that's not fair."

"No, but there's always someone else, Naruto-san. But right now, I have another mission that I need you to do. Why don't we team you up with Hinata and Ino?"

Naruto nodded, and they left to talk to the girls.

* * *

Sakura fell asleep, leaning against the wall of Kakashi's house. Sasuke was now sleeping peacefully, and night had come and gone, the sun coming slowly up. As the light started pouring into the room, Sakura started to stir. Her eyes slowly opened to see Sasuke standing up, about to make his way to the door.

"Sasuke-kun…"

He stopped dead in his tracks and looked back at her.

"Please don't go."

"I can't stay here, Sakura-san. They're looking for me."

"Who's 'they'?"

"The masters of power that I've been with since we said goodbye the last time. They want to get rid of me. And if they find me here, they'll kill everyone here…even you."

"Sasuke-san. Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei, and the other teachers, as well as me, Lee-kun, and Naruto-kun. We can protect you."

"I don't want anyone dying on my account."

"Sasuke-kun, please!"

"No!"

"Sasuke-kun…"

"No…I don't want that kind of blood on my hands," he said. Then pausing, he turned around completely and kneeled down in front of her.

"You're sick and you haven't healed all the way yet, Sasuke-kun."

"I don't feel ill anymore, and my wounds won't take that long to heal. But there is one thing that I've been meaning to do," he said, closing the distance between them, and turning his head. Then extending his hand to support her face, his lips came in contact with hers. After a moment, he released her and stood back up.

"Sasuke-kun, why?"

Sasuke was already almost to the door.

"Because…while I was gone, I found out how much you meant to me. I thought about you a lot. I…uh…I promised that I would let you know how I felt about you if we ever met again."

"I love you, Sasuke-kun."

"I know," said Sasuke. "Tell Kakashi-sensei that I said _thank you_."

He left without another word. Leaving Sakura sitting on the floor of Kakashi's home, tears streaming down her face. She had given Sasuke her heart all those years ago. But after all that time he had finally given his heart to her. So maybe, just maybe, he would return to her when he finally gets done running.

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed it. Not sure if I'm going to continue this story or not. I'm currently working on a much bigger project, so I may not. Anyway, please review. Bye all!_


	2. The Road

"**THAT IDIOT!"** Kakashi bellowed, slamming his fist into the wall next to him, making the house shake.

Naruto and Sakura cowered in front of him. Usually Kakashi would keep his temper in check quite nicely, but in the last few years, where Sasuke was concerned, the usually easy-going ninja's self-restraint was as good as gone.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura muttered uncertainly, still cowering.

"We're going after him," said Kakashi, as if he didn't hear her. His temper was beginning to cool down already, which was a admirable quality of his character.

"We?" Naruto said, sounding completely put out.

Kakashi ignored his comment, "Well? Get moving! We're going to leave in exactly one hour! Get your stuff together!"

So Sakura and Naruto hurried out of their teacher's home. Each dashing into their own homes and rushing to change clothes and pack not only another set of clothes, but also food, weapons, bandages, and in Sakura's case, a brush. And exactly an hour later, they were waiting at their usual meeting spot. To complete the team, Kakashi showed up in a record time of only five minutes late.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked, unsmiling.

The two ninja nodded as he walked right past them. Looking at each other, Sakura and Naruto began to follow.

"So, which way are we going?" Naruto asked.

"You're hopeless, Naruto. You're a chounin and you're still asking dumb questions," Sakura said, shifting the pack on her back. And since they were indeed chounin, they were allowed to do things on their own, and didn't always have to do what Kakashi said anymore. But the fact that the older man had been their teacher and friend for many years now, seemed to make his words law to them.

"What? It's not like we know where he went…" Naruto said, out of frustration.

"Actually, we do. He went in the opposite direction as he was going the night he disappeared. He would have to be in order to get away from Orochimaru and the others. That is…if he's actually running."

Sakura looked suddenly quite miserable. She knew that in the past, if someone was after Sasuke, his style had not been to run. If there was something that everyone knew about Sasuke, it was that he usually met everything that opposed him, head on, "And if he's not running?"

Kakashi suddenly stopped and his neck bowed. When Naruto and Sakura stopped as well, Kakashi spoke gravely, "Then…there's a good chance…that he…will die before we find him."

There was a long moment of silence before Kakashi took a deep breath, lifting his head up and starting to walk again. Naruto and Sakura slowly began to follow again. As the hours slowly ticked by, memories, as well as worried thoughts took shelter in the minds of the three ninja. Sure, out of the three, Naruto didn't care as much about Sasuke as say, Sakura did. But it didn't change the fact that he _did_ care…at least, he did to some extent. Then all at once, Kakashi stopped. Sakura had a hand to a kunai, but Naruto was just looking around, confused. Within an instant, hundreds of kunais and throwing stars came down on them like sheets of pouring rain. Sakura, grabbed Naruto by the hand to pull him behind a tree, and Kakashi disappeared momentarily, only to reappear in a tree nearby. Kakashi's lightning hit the metal of the weapons, carrying in a backwards shock wave towards the source. With an explosion somewhere nearby, with no more weapons coming down on them, he could tell that the lightning had done its job. Jumping down from the tree, he walked over to Sakura and Naruto.

"Everyone okay?"

"Yes," Sakura said, straightening herself up. Naruto nodded shakily.

Kakashi turned his head back in the direction of the falling kunais. There, on the ground, unconscious, was a young ninja that bore the symbol of _Hidden in the Sound_, "Odd. I never knew sound ninjas could create realistic imagery illusions. I always thought they were more the type that targeted the eardrum."

"But Kakashi-sensei, didn't you hear the intensity of the kunai when they hit the ground in his illusion? It sounded like small lightning bolts," Sakura said, matter-of-factly.

"Hmm…strange…I don't remember. Not at all. Not a good sign…not at all," he mumbled, more to himself than to Sakura or Naruto.

"I heard it too. My head started pulsing as soon as the kunai appeared," Naruto said, but his voice never seemed to reach Kakashi's ears. The older man walked to the young, unconscious ninja and bound him tightly. Then using a technique to knock him out for a few days, they took off.

"Why did you let him live, Sensei?"

"My goal was not to kill him, just to keep him from getting to us. Judging by his skill, though, I would have to say that he's a pretty low level ninja. Still, even lower level ones can cause problems. Better to keep him unconscious until long after we're gone. Now, lets go."

With that, Kakashi made sure Sakura and Naruto were behind him, then broke into a run. Sakura and Naruto started running behind him, as well.

"Kakashi-sensei, do you know where Sasuke is yet?" Sakura spoke softly.

Kakashi didn't answer for a moment, then frowned, "I have a hunch. That is…if I know him well enough. And now, I'm not sure if I do or not. But its the best I have."

"How long do you think it will take?" Sakura asked.

"Not too long, I hope," he said quietly.

Suddenly, something big fell from above them and lay stationary in front of them. A cloud of dust slowly cleared to reveal the body of a young woman. Naruto jumped back in alarm, Sakura's eyes widened in terror, and Kakashi's eyes narrowed. Looking up, he followed the shape of a tall figure, before it disappeared. Kakashi felt the fear in his chest rising as he desperately looked around. He had to find the person who had disappeared, and quickly. Suddenly, Sakura let out a bone chilling scream, followed by what sounded like a hand coming over her mouth.

"Shut up, you idiot!" A stern voice said. By now, Kakashi and Naruto were both turned around to see who was there, attacking Sakura.

Kakashi lifted his eyebrows in surprise, unable to do anything accept stand there, Naruto doing the same. There was Sasuke. His eyes speared Sakura so harshly that she looked as if she might cry at any moment.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, sounding annoyed, "You want to get me killed? You want to get yourselves killed?"

"Did you kill that woman just now?" Kakashi asked, his voice very low.

"Its not as if I had a choice, but yeah," Sasuke said, taking his hand off Sakura's mouth.

"Was she after you?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, quietly. "We have to get out of the open…" He seized Sakura's arm and jumped. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's arm and did the same. Kakashi found himself facing towards Sasuke again, with Naruto at his side. Kakashi watched as Sakura put her arms around Sasuke, and the raven-haired, young man did nothing more than look towards the ground, before slowly bringing his arms up and gently putting them around her as well. He couldn't help but think that this was a side of Sasuke that he didn't remember seeing before. That this affection that was so clearly being shown, this gentleness, was a side of Sasuke that he was seeing for the very first time. Naruto looked away in disgust.

"Sasuke…why did you run off," Kakashi said, interrupting his intimate moment with Sakura.

Sasuke looked up, his arms still around Sakura, "I didn't want the blood of the entire village on my hands. And really…I didn't want the blood of your deaths on my hands either. I didn't want you to come after me…but…it looks as if I couldn't stop you, now, could I?"

"What chance do you think you have out here, alone?" Kakashi said, his voice steadily getting louder and more lethal with every word. He knew his emotions were getting the better of him, but he found that he really didn't care enough to try to stop it.

"Its better than taking all of you down with me," Sasuke said hotly. He could feel Sakura hold onto him tighter as his temper started to rise.

"You don't know that!"

"I've been around these people—if you could even call them people—for years. I know what they're capable of. And even you, Kakashi-sensei, could not stand up to some of them. This should have been my fight alone. But I should warn you. Either kill or be killed. That's the only rule to fighting these ninjas. You show them any mercy and they'll make sure you regret it. That is…if you live long enough to regret it."

"We're not dumb enough to show them mercy, though. Have some faith in me as you once did. I would not have gone after you if I thought that all of us together didn't have a chance of beating them," Kakashi began to speak evenly again.

"Maybe…just don't get in the way."


	3. The reason I came back

"We're not dumb enough to show them mercy, though. Have some faith in me as you once did. I would not have gone after you if I thought that all of us together didn't have a chance of beating them," Kakashi began to speak evenly again.

"Maybe…just don't get in the way," Sasuke said, releasing Sakura and looking down to make sure no one was below them.

"So, what now?" Sakura asked quietly, looking a little put-out by the fact that Sasuke had gone back to being his old, over-calculating self again.

"Now, we wait…until the next one comes to find me."

"We met a sound ninja on the way here. He didn't seem to be overly talented, but he tried a raining kunai illusion on us. Any idea what that's about?"

"Not surprising really. Most likely they've tried to box me in. If I get in a fight with one of the surrounding ninjas, the better ones will be warned and come after me in a pack. No doubt I wouldn't survive a head-on assault. Its better at the moment because they're all split up looking for me. Alone, we have a chance of beating them. Together, though, I don't know if anyone really has a chance against them."

"So? What are they like?"

"Insane. Power-hungry. Talented. Ruthless. What else is there to know?"

"How could you stand to be around people like that?" Sakura asked, her voice still quiet.

"You don't notice it as much when you start to become the same way they are. Its not something that I'm not proud of…but for a time…I was exactly like them."

"Why did you come back to us, then?" Kakashi asked in a low voice.

"Part of it is thanks to Sakura. If I hadn't started to feel something for her, no doubt I would have been lost to you guys forever. But the other part of it was…that when I finally had a chance to take a good look at myself, well, I saw what I had already become and what I was on my way to becoming. Lets just say that what I saw made me want to plunge my kunai right into my chest. But death would not have been satisfying enough. And now I know. No matter how much I want to kill my brother. It is something that will forever be out of my reach."

"You have changed. A lot. You're gentler, kinder, more careful than you used to be," Kakashi said.

"Whatever."

"You jerk," Naruto finally said, "Kakashi-sensei is giving you a compliment and you just act like its nothing at all! I used to hate you…and now…I still do! Its that smug attitude of yours that I hate! You think you're always right, don't you?"

"Shut up, Naruto-_chan_. You fought me and lost, remember? So you have no business acting like my equal."

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura closed her fingers around the front of Sasuke's shirt to get his attention.

Sasuke shifted his full attention to Sakura, "What is it?"

"Would you—"

"Later," Sasuke looked around to see if any enemies were nearby.

"Oh…" Sakura looked even more put-out.

Naruto rolled his eyes, folding his arms, and pouted childishly as he glared at Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "You know, for being an adult now, you're still such a baby."

"Keep you're mouth shut, you little shit!"

"Shut up, chicken! I don't have time for this," Sasuke said, his voice hissing venomously in the space between them.

"You want a piece of me, moron?" Naruto started towards Sasuke, angrily.

"Hey! That's enough! Naruto-kun!" Kakashi said sharply, grabbing the young, yellow-haired man by the arm to keep him from trying to attack Sasuke.

"I've had enough," Sasuke said, looking disgusted. Naruto glared at his peer with complete loathing.

Kakashi smiled, "Some things never change."

Sakura looked at Kakashi in disbelief, "Why are you smiling, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Just reminds me of old times is all. Its good to see everyone together again."

"Oh no…please don't start getting sappy on us now," Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Kakashi's eye suddenly caught sight of something below them, not too far away, "Look alive, we have a guest."

"I'm on it," Sasuke said, jumping off of the branch and throwing two explosive kunai at the ninja. Falling backwards as the explosions went off, the ninja clutched at his legs before looking up at the trees with a deadly glare.

"Come on out, Sasuke-san," he said.

"Now!" Kakashi whispered to Naruto and Sakura. Sakura threw a star at the ninja, and Naruto duplicated it by a few hundred. Kakashi completed his hand signs just as the throwing stars began to rain down on the ninja, and electricity bounced from one metal star to the next until it reached the ninja and caused an electric shock that knocked him out. Out of nowhere, a huge flame engulfed the ninja, leaving him so badly burned that his bones could be seen.

"Ugh…" Kakashi swallowed hard as his stomach churned in disgust.

"Is he dead?" Naruto asked, looking at the enemy ninja with disgust as well.

"Yes," Sasuke said, jumping down from a nearby tree. Using hand signs again, he continued to burn the body until it was no more than ash. Then moving over to the female ninja he had killed earlier, he did the same to her.

"How cruel can you get? They're already dead." Naruto said, glaring at Sasuke.

"No. He doesn't want anyone trying to use their secrets if they're found by someone else. What he's doing is actually quite respectful," Sakura whispered to Naruto.

"Not exactly the cleanest way, but its affective," Kakashi said quietly.

Not wasting any time, Sasuke made his way back into the tree where the other three were located. Sitting down an a branch, he rested his head on the trunk of the tree.

"So, what now?" Kakashi asked.

"Now, we wait," Sasuke said.

"For what?" Naruto asked, surprisingly calm.

"For the true enemy threat to find us. So far, all we've dealt with are the fairly amateur ones. We have yet to cross paths with some of the people—if you could even call them that anymore—who are good enough and cruel enough to kill on a regular basis. For those Jounin, I will only be partnered with Kakashi-sensei to fight with them. It would be too dangerous to risk putting the two of you in a fight like that."

"I would be honored," Kakashi spoke softly.

"But, Sasuke-kun…we can help…"

"No, Sakura, and that's final," Sasuke said, closing his eyes, "However…if you would like to help, Naruto, I don't see anything against that. Just don't screw up."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, half pleased, half astonished. He didn't know what to say. It slowly occurred to the young, blonde-haired man that perhaps Sasuke did regard him more highly than he had when they were children. He decided not to say anything except a simple, "Ok."

While Kakashi, Naruto, and Sasuke quietly talked out the exact situation, Sakura was completely silent, partly listening to the boys' conversation, partly sulking. It wasn't until Sasuke finally looked towards her almost an hour later and saw her sitting on a branch a few feet away from them with her eyes downcast, that he finally realized how long it had been since he had heard her voice.

"So, the plan all along was for you to—"

"Hey, Sakura. Are you all right?" Sasuke asked, cutting Naruto off in mid-sentence. His words made Naruto and Kakashi look around at her as well.

Sakura looked up, looking confused, "Sorry?"

"I asked if you were okay. You look—come here," Sasuke said, waving her towards him. He held out one of his arms towards her.

Sakura got up and made her way over to him. Grabbing her arm, Sasuke pulled her down into a sitting position so that she was facing away from him. Laying her back against his chest, he put his arms around her waist, whispering in her ear, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sakura said unconvincingly.

"You're lying."

"I just…I feel so useless," Sakura said, sounding almost ashamed.

"Not at all. Sakura, I know I don't say this enough, but you're my reason for coming back—you're uh…you're special to me. You're just not useful in the same way as Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei. You're brains and you're heart are you're greatest talent and gift. So, you're just as good as myself or anyone else here. Do you get it?"

Sakura nodded, "Yes."

"Mm…"

"What?"

"Sorry…I'm falling asleep."

"How much chakra energy have you used?"

"Before all of you got here…I was using my chakra almost non-stop since I left you in the village."

"You can't go on this way. You won't last…not against someone more powerful."

Sasuke didn't speak at once, then he began slowly in a hesitant tone, "I know that. But if you're the last thing I see, I'll be happy."

It was as if she had just been struck by lighting. His words came thundering down on her and for a moment, she had trouble trying to make herself believe what he was inferring.

"Sasuke…no. You can't mean that you think you're—" Sakura unlaced Sasuke's hands from around her and leaned away from him to look at his face. Sasuke opened his eyes, frowning back at her. Naruto and Kakashi, who had both taken to resting their eyes, sitting on a nearby branch, looked at Sakura with puzzled expressions.

"No," Sasuke said at last, "it is not my intent to die here."

"What in the world are you two talking about over there?" Kakashi asked.

Sasuke smirked, "Almost had our first fight."

"Oh," Kakashi grinned. Naruto just closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

Sakura smiled, rising to her feet. Sasuke watched her, his expression changing to a kind of distress.

"Where are you going?"

"You said you were tired. We should change roles," Sakura said, stepping behind him and sitting down so that he was against her chest instead, "Go ahead and sleep now. I'll keep watch."

With Sakura's arms locking themselves around his chest, he opened his mouth to protest, but ended up just sighing, "Thanks…I um…I appreciate it."

Feeling her lips touch his cheek, he blinked, dazed. But slowly he relaxed and found himself falling into a deep sleep…and he remembered no more…

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_Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. :)_


	4. Secrets

**Naruto – Returned Love**

**Chapter 4 – Secrets**

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Sakura called, keeping her voice as low as possible.

A pair of groggy blue eyes slowly opened to the dimming light of an orange sky. It took a moment for him to piece together in his mind all that had happened, but once he remembered, he sat up almost immediately with his back to Sakura. Kakashi was sitting nearby, watching something below very carefully. He could feel Sakura grab his hand as he looked down at the scene himself. Giving her fingers a comfortable squeeze, he caught sight of two men below. Much to his discomfort, he recognized them. Just as he had thought, more powerful shinobi would be sent when the others did not return. Sasuke glanced up to see Kakashi still watching. It was then that he noticed that Naruto was nowhere to be found. As if sensing his question, Kakashi looked up and caught Sasuke's eyes.

"Where is Naruto?" Sasuke mouthed.

Sasuke watched as Kakashi's eye seemed to suddenly sparkle. Lifting his index finger towards his mask, he winked his eye and looked back down at the ground. Frowning, Sasuke looked back down at the ground as well. One of the shinobi bent down.

"He's been here. There are burn marks in the soil. I'd say not more than three hours ago."

Sasuke was about to look up at Kakashi again when a sound like an explosion ripped through the air. Without a second of warning, a huge purple ball of flame was upon the shinobi below. It was so quick that not even Sasuke had seen it coming. Within seconds the ball erupted into an explosion, obliterating everything in its path. Then, as quickly as it came, the ball subsided into nothingness. All that remained was a burned, carved-out pathway that had been created by the firey ball. Sasuke's eyes immediately darted around to search for the two shinobi attackers. He managed to locate one with his eyes. He was hiding behind a nearby tree. The other shinobi seemed nowhere to be found. It was just as he looked at a large old tree that Sasuke noticed someone else. There, crouching like a wild cat, ready to pounce was Naruto. His eyes were serious and beast-like.

"What was that, Kakashi?" asked Sasuke in a whisper.

"Naruto has learned many new tricks while you were gone. You do remember how Naruto used to say that he would become the Hokage someday?"

Sasuke frowned, "Yeah…"

"He's getting scarily close to how powerful the fourth Hokage was. He's suppressed the fox demon and mastered his own chakra. His skills have become not only powerful but cunning."

"Naruto, cunning?" Sasuke said in disbelief. This had to be a joke. Since when was Naruto intelligent or cool-headed enough to be cunning?

Then suddenly, like a lightning strike, a white light flashed through the trees below. A cry rang out and then there was complete silence. Sasuke's eyes immediately flashed to the enemy shinobi. He dropped to the ground like a large wild animal that had been shot with something. Without thinking, his gaze drifted back to Naruto. His eyebrows flew upwards in surprise. The yellow-haired shinobi was gone.

"Those were the only two around for the moment," said a voice behind Sasuke.

Startled, he turned to see who had spoken, only to come eye to eye with another pair of blue eyes. Naruto smiled softly at Sasuke's startled expression.

"I guess you're finally awake then," Naruto said. His demeanor seemed oddly quiet and serious in comparison to the Naruto he was used to.

"What was that just now?" Sasuke asked, still baffled.

Naruto suddenly got a very mischievious smile on his face.

"It's called a wisp. It's an animal that lives alone in the far places of the highest parts of the world. They're so rare that there are almost none who have ever seen one."

Sasuke frowned, "An animal? What does it do? And why was it here?"

"I guess you could say, a wisp is a living form of energy. I happened to come across one and make a contract with it. It was here because I summoned it here."

Sasuke stared at him, half glaringly, half unbelievingly, "You made a contract with an animal that's actually living energy… and one that is almost impossible to find too? How?"

Naruto shrugged, "I saved it from something when it needed help. That was all."

"And what about that contract you had with that toad thing?"

"It stopped working for me when I began to suppress the fox's chakra. I could no longer summon a big enough toad to protect me. Besides, pervy sage was famous for toads. I needed something else."

By this time Sakura was throwing blushing glances at Sasuke, and Naruto had lost most of his interest in talk.

"And what about the chakra issue? How can you summon the wisp without it?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I kinda wish I knew that myself. The wisp doesn't really seem to take much chakra though. At first the wisp I summoned was a lot weaker, but when I learned to master the chakra I have without the fox, it became much easier to extend chakra for summoning in contracts as well."

Sasuke stared at Naruto. How on earth had the complete idiot that he used to know become this intelligent? When had Naruto learned all this stuff? Had Kakashi taught him? Had the great white-haired sage finally gotten something through to Naruto that no one else had been able to, or had it been someone else?

Sasuke looked over at Sakura and Kakashi. Sakura blushed and looked away, and Kakashi's gaze had already been stolen by the clearing below. What new tricks did they have that he didn't know about? There was no doubt in his mind now that the three people that were with him now had a lot more to them than met they eye.

Naruto's eyes followed Sasuke's gaze.

"If you're wondering about Sakura and Kakashi… well, she's supper strong with some wicked healing powers and a temper to match, and Kakashi, he can bend time and space. It used to wear him out, but he can do it without blinking an eye now. They also have a few other tricks, but I'll let you see them for yourself."

Sasuke stared at Kakashi, "Time and space? Looks like you guys were busy while I was gone."

"And what about you? What new tricks do you have that we don't know about?"

Sasuke smirked, "I'll let you find that out for yourselves. Though, what I have probably isn't as cool as your wisp."

Naruto smiled crookedly as he leaned his back against a branch. It was odd to feel respected by Sasuke. But perhaps, after all this time, it was a respect that was well past due.

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_**Hey there! Wow, it has been so, so long since I have updated this fic. Sorry to everyone who has been waiting to see more of it. And sorry for the update being a little short. I can't promise that I'll continue this fic, but all your positive reviews spurred me to write another chapter.**_

_**I've looked through this fic a little, and I'm not sure it really is all that accurate, especially in accordance to the Shippuden series, but I guess that's the way it goes when you start something before they make a sequel. So, just so you know, everything in this fic may not fit with the series. Sorry about that. Take it or leave it.**_

_**Until next chapter! Cheers! & Have a great summer!**_


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